Life preserver



June 3, 1941. s. KRONHAUS LIFE PRESERVER Filed Nov. 18, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet l lave/z for. ,Sem en ,I'o/zaas.

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June 3, 1941. s. KRoNHAUs Lim PRESERVER Fi1-ed NOV. 18, 1939 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented June 3, 1941 LIFE PRESERVEB,

Semen Kronhaus, lLos Angeles, Calif., assi'gnor of one-third to C. Ivanoi and one-third' to Dina Kronhaus both of Los Angeles County, Calif.

Application November 18, 1939, Serial No. 305,1113

l Claim.

My invention has to do with improvements in lifeV preservers. It. is among the objects of' my invention to provide a life preserver capable of fully protecting the user from. exposure while awaiting rescue; which may be quickly and easily donned; which is capable of supporting the user in an upright position in the water at all times; which is sufficiently flexible `and so constructed as to permit the user to walk andhave free use of his arms and which can be stored in a` relatively small space when not in use.

Another object is the pro-vision in such a suit of means for carrying, in addition to a larger occupant, a small infant and' protecting such infant from exposure, and which compartment is also suitable for carrying food or other supplies.

Another object is the provision of a simple and efficient means for securely connecting together the [body and leg portions of the preserver in fluid tight relationship.

Still further objects and attainments will become obvious from the following detailed description of one presently preferred adaptation of my invention, for the purpose of which description I shall refer to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section;

Fig. 2 is a section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary View showing the means for connecting the body and leg portions together; and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view showing the air communication means.

Referring now to the drawings, I show my life preserver suit as comprising lower or leg portion 5 and body portion 6, both comprised of a suitably water-proofed fabric. Lower portion 5 is formed somewhat in the manner of a pair of trousers, having a pair of legs l, each of which has a foot portion 8 adapted to receive the foot of an occupant. A plate of iiexible metal 9, or other suitably durable material, is secured to the bottom of each of the foot portions 8 as by riveting. To the waist of lower portion 5, I secure, as by riveting, a metal ring I5 having an outwardly projecting, threaded annular flange I6 for the purpose to be described (-see Fig. 3).

Body 6 has an open neck portion 22 and arm portions 20 which terminate at their outer ends in integrally formed gloves or mittens 2l. Around the waist of the body portion 6, I secure a ring 23, made of metal or other suitable material, which has an outwardly projecting annular ange 24 (see Fig. 3) between which flange and ange I 6 a gasket 26 of rubber or other suitable material is` compressed when the suit is in use. Preferably the gasket is cemented to flange I6 to secure it in position. when not in use. To so compress the gasket and maintain the upper and lower portions of the suitv in assembled condition, I provide an internally threaded sleeve which has nobs 3| for manual manipulation. Sleeve 30 has an inwardly projecting annular ange 32 which fits over ilange 24 and its threaded portion is, adapted to engage the threads of lower fiange I6.

Body 6 has an enlarged front or bosom portion 35 which provides a compartment 33 large enough to receive and carry an infant. When occupying compartment 36, the infant is supported next to and in contact with the body of the other occupant for warmth, Compartment 36 also may be used for carrying foodstuffs if desired.

Secured to body 6 around the neck and shoulder portions thereof, I provide a helmet 40 which is preferably of a suitable metal and preferably has an outer covering 4I of fabric and a padding 42 of cork or other suitable padding material between the outer covering 4l and the helmet 40. A pair of oppositely disposed tubular members 43 provide air passageways for enabling the occupant to breathe. Each of these tubular members is preferably in two sections, the inner end section being welded to the metal helmet at 43h and having a hanged outer end to which the attaching flange 44 of the outer section is secured Iby screws 44a. `Each of the tubular members 43 terminates at its outer end in a bell 4B and within each of the bells I provide a clapper 48. To support the clapper I mount Within the bell, as by soldering or welding, a spider 5D from which the clapper is suspended by means of a link, the link being pivotally secured to the spider at 49 (see Fig. 4) Normally resting on and unattached to the spider I provide a cork o-r float 52 which is slidably mounted on and guided by a post 53 welded at its bottom` end to the spider. 'I'he purpose of this float is to provide an emergency seal for the'I passageway in the event a large wave should sweep over the bell-in that case the water rising in the bell would move the float against the surface at which the passageway communicates with the bell, and after the wave passes, the float automatically drops back to its normal position (Fig. 4) by gravity. The bell is for the purpose of giving alarm to attract attention to the presence of the life preserver and its occupant in the water and, by virtue of having the air passageways pass through the bell in accordance with the structure described, the passageway is amply protected from water entering the interior of the helmet.

For purposes of vision I provide a pair oi windows B'l in the helmet, which windows are covered by glass or some other suitably transparent material secured to the helmet by an attaching strip 6|. While one windowlarge enough to accommodate both eyes of the occupantmay be used, I prefer tohave two of said windows so positioned respectively as to be in front of thev respective eyes of the occupant. Only one of the windows is shown in the drawings.

The helmet has a bottom flange 'I for pur-` poses of securing the helmet to the neck and shoulder portions of the suit, it being secured thereto in water-tight engagement by 'rivets ,'H. As shown in Fig. 2, and by the dotted lines in Fig. 1, flange 'Hl preferably has a skirt 'l2 'which overhangs the bosom portion 35 of the body of the suit to serve asV a protecting guard for an infant occupying compartment 36.

The padding 42 is provided for the purpose of taking the shock in case the metal helmet should be struck by or strike something while floating in the water.

In donning my device the user rst inserts his legs into the trouser portion 5 of the suit and draws the upper portion and the helmet over his head, after which the threads on sleeve 3D are meshed with the threads on the ange IS and the nobs 3l manually manipulated to screw the sleeve onto flange I6 and compress the gasket 2S between anges 24 and I6 to provide a fluidA tight seal. To hold the lower portion of the suit in position while donning the upper portion,

and also for drawing the foot portion of the garment upward against the feet of the occupant to t the device to occupants of varying height, I provide a pair of Suspenders 'l5 which are secured at their ends to the lower portion 5 at 'i6 and are adapted to pass over the shoulders of the occupant.

The helmet is relatively large and displaces enough water to maintain it and the occupants head above level, which water level normall f is about at the line denoted L (Figs. l and 2).

While, in the foregoing, I have resorted to considerable detail of structure and association of parts in describing one particular example of my invention, I wish it to be understood that I have done so merely to make my invention understood 'and that I do not limit my invention to such details. On the contrary, my invention is only to be limited as appears in the appended claim.

I claim:

In a life preserver of the character described, a suit portion formed of a leg portion and ag body portion, a neck opening in the body portion, a helmet secured to the body around said neck portion in uid tight engagement therewithsaid helmet having an opening communicating with said neck opening large enough to pass the head of an occupant, a pair of air passing tubes secured to opposite sides of the helmet and formingcommunication between the interior of the helmet and atmosphere, a pair of downwardly opening bell shaped members carried by the outer ends of and communicating with the respective tubes, and a sound creating means within each of said bell shaped members. Y v

v SEMEN KRONHAUSV. 

